EDUCATION SPENDING

AN AREA WHERE AMERICA SPENDS MORE AND GETS LESS

Many people believe that a lack of funding is
a problem in the education system. Yet as a percent of GNP, America we
already spends more on education than most other modern states.
Historically, education spending is at an all-time high. High School
graduation rates have barely budged since the 90's. In 1990, the average
graduation rate was 73.7 %. By 2005 there was a modest increase to
74.7%, despite enormous increases in spending. Mindlessly throwing money
at the problem is not working. We need reforms in resource allocation
rather than a spending increase. Specifically, we need reforms that
reflect the technological needs of the 21st century job market. Part of
this strategy involves implementing a National Broadband Network, as
many modern states have already done.

We need an education system oriented to job
skills. We also must have universal access to high speed broad
band so people can learn outside the confines of America's totally
inefficient education system. In particular, we need to end the
fairy tale that going to college is an automatic ticket to wealth.

An Education
System That Leaves Students Direly Unprepared For The Job Market:

Even amidst a recession, there are an
estimated
600,000
jobs in America that are going unfilled. Many employers are forced to
train their own workers, because these workers do not learn the needed
skills at school. There is a dire lack of STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math) skills in the employment pool. What is missing are
workers with a specialized skill set. The more specific the job
requirement, the more difficult it is to find an individual who can do
the job. 67% of American manufacturing companies report difficulties
finding qualified workers. Part of the problem is the cut backs in
vocational training at public schools. There should be more information
given on the opportunities provided by vocational training and community
colleges, rather than always pushing children to go to four year
colleges.

The Student
Debt Crisis and Delusions about the Value of College

The conventional belief that a college
education pays for itself is not always true. Part of this myth was
pushed when the U.S. Census Bureau (later endorsed by the Department of
Education) stated that individuals with a Bachelor's degree will earn
2.1 million dollars more in their life time. Unfortunately, this number
does not take variables such as inflation, loan debt and the effects of
an economic downturn into account. In our current economy, about half of
all recent college graduates are unemployed.

Student Loans are now the larger than credit
card debt. To add to the insanity, student loan debt is the only debt
that is not dischargeable through bankruptcy laws.
See More On Our Student Loan Crisis Page.

Drastic changes are needed in the way that
the education system is structured. A start is reorganizing the national
budget to meet the needs of a technologically growing world.

Our
Competitors Are Out-pacing Us in Science, Technology and Engineering
Fields

It's no secret that China is rapidly
out-pacing us in the production of graduates with engineering and
science degrees. The United States degrees may have more bells and
whistles than other countries. But the engineering degrees in other
countries still teach their students the basics of what they need to
know to get the job done. If we want to retain jobs on American soil, we
need to teach our students real life job skills. Otherwise, we will see
more jobs exported overseas and less technological innovation at home in
the decades to come.

FIRST UNIVERSITY NATURAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING DEGREES

National Broadband as a Right, Not a
Privilege

As you can see from the chart above, the
United States lags behind other countries in terms of internet access
per citizen. National Broadband access must be considered a right in the
same way that access to public education is a national right. Many
Americans today still don't have access to the internet. For example, as
many as 90% of Native Americans lack internet access (USA
Today).

Not to mention that the average U.S.
internet speed lags behind other countries (Internet
Speeds Ranked by Country). Broadband can provide more customized
learning options and expand education beyond the physical limitations of
the classroom. A customized learning program is essential for instilling
children with the specific skill set needed for the workplace.

Increase Access to Online Digital
Content

The federal government should increase the
legal accessibility to online digital data, with standards established
by the U.S. Department of Education. Part of this involves congress
taking action to encourage copyright holders to grant educational
digital rights of use. The current crackdown of available online content
is detrimental to the learning process on both a national and global
level. If we are to raise an educated nation of people, we need to stop
this online copyright war. An online collaboration of the world's most
brilliant minds will be critical to solving the pressing issues of our
time. Much of this content can act as a free online library - making
much of the expenses of an over inflated educational system unnecessary.

Make Digital Literacy a Part of the
Curriculum

Many schools still waste time teaching
children outdated and unnecessary skills that they will never use in the
workforce. In the classroom, teachers often hear the bemoaned phrase
"when am I ever going to use this" from their students. But the students
are right, they shouldn't have their time (or parent's tax payer money)
wasted on something they will never use in their adult life. Instead,
digital skills and online literacy need to be incorporated into the
curriculum at a young age. For example, much time is still dedicated to
teaching children how to do cursive handwriting, even though it is a
skill seldom used in the modern world.

More
Flexibility to Schools and Parents: Less Overhead Bureaucracy

Schools also need more flexibility to match the needs of the local
economy. Schools currently experience a lot of frustration because they
can't move money between programs. They can only spend the money where
the federal government says they can. There needs to be flexibility in
funding that allows schools to spend their money wisely.

For example, if a school is in an area with a
large Latino population, that school should be able to make the choice
to allocate more of their funds to teaching Spanish Language and English
as Second Language Skills. Or if there is a local factory that provides
most of the jobs in a community, a school should have the option of
allocating more funds to classes that teach machinery skills.

Conclusion

In conclusion, what we need is a more
streamlined, less wasteful, education system that can rise to the
technological challenges of the 21st century workforce. If we are to
retain jobs on U.S. soil, we need to prepare the workers of tomorrow to
perform specific job functions. Key in this strategy is implementing a
National Broadband Network, focusing on STEM skills, incorporating more
digital media in the curriculum and giving schools the flexibility to
manage their own funds. What we need is smart spending. Not more
spending.

LINKS

The following links provide more useful sites with regards to this
topic